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White Mailer Box discussion

Figures.com Review He-Ro. On the Right hand side of the card you see a pretty long crease. I'm sure there are more creases on the card.

I know MOST collectors on the .org aren't picky with this sort of thing but isn't the purpose of the white mailer box to protect the card from creases?

My opinion: I'd rather do away with the boxes because they'll just increase shipping costs and they may just be creased carded figures in white mailer boxes.

I'm not looking for something to complain about. All I'm saying is if the purpose of the white mailer box is to protect the package but it gets damaged in China before shippment...then you might as well have customers save on shipping and save paper....save the trees! LOL

I dont think an outer shipping box will help the issues I have.
My problem isnt from the outside but within.
They are squeezing the card into boxes that are to small-
which causes bent corners etc etc.

An outershipping box will not help this.

I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity--Edgar Allen Poe

One other thing which concerns me is if matty puts MOTUC on the mailer box.
If they do, it could become an easy target for theft

I have a feeling that they will still be putting this "outer" box into a larger shipping box.. especially if you order more than 1 figure. The shipping boxes never said MOTUC on them so far. I don't see why that would change now.

I can tell you that chances are better than not that the prices won't be raised. I paid the same amount of shipping for my MOTUC figure as I did with a 2-pack DCUC that comes in a white mailer box. I saw the He-Ro figure with the damage so I assume that some damage is being caused even before they leave the warehouse, but the box should help with the situation that my Hordaks came in. Usually I order a few figures for me and a few for my brother and friends, but with Hordak it only came down to my brother and I wanting 4 figures. Usually there is a lot of space for the figures to move which is bad because DR doesn't put much care in the placement and materials that they use, but with Hordak they stuffed 4 into a box that barely fit them and the cards were all jacked. This was also the first time that the bubbles were damaged due to being pressed way to tight. I am of the frame of mind that the white mailer box will help in this situation because they can't play tetris with the figures anymore...they'll just have to place them in the boxes the way they should fit. With my DCUC 2-pack it was still packaged somewhat carelessly with no materials around the white mailer box so it wouldn't move inside the box it was packaged in, but at least the box protected it from any damage. We should all be happy about the the protective mailers...even if it doesn't completely get rid of the problem it's at least a step in the right direction.

I saw the He-Ro figure with the damage so I assume that some damage is being caused even before they leave the warehouse

I agree that some of the damage is being done in the distributution centre. Someone had haphazardly attempted to scotch tape the bubble back on! I'll post the pics when i get the chance. Truly shocking

If they were really worried about how the Fans feel about the protection of their figures. Instead of coming up with their "briliant" white mailer boxes that you have to open to enjoy the Figure. They should have taken a que from Hasbro with their G.I.Joe clear protective plastic cases. To me that would have been smarter and shown the fans that they actually might care a little bit about how we feel.
JD

it doesnt matter how well you pack the figures AFTER the damage has been done..

a LOT of these figures are being damaged either right off of the line.. or as they are being shipped from factory to distro

I contacted matty collector's helpline - international call for 12 minutes so that cost me a fortune. They advised that I could parcel up and return the package for a replacement but that I would have to pay for return p&p. What a disgraceful policy!

I dont think an outer shipping box will help the issues I have.
My problem isnt from the outside but within.
They are squeezing the card into boxes that are to small-
which causes bent corners etc etc.

An outershipping box will not help this.

Ok so I was/am wrong.
This will help quite a bit-as long as others have said-the package is good from the get go. I hope these boxes aren't a to tight fit.

I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity--Edgar Allen Poe

I know the boxes are supposed to start with He-Ro, but today when I ordered MAA I used the same shipping method I always do and the cost increased by more than three dollars.

So either way the shipping for me is going up.

Most likely because the company that does the shipping raised their prices. I stuck with the cheapest option and it stayed the same, Lately when I've gone to the store I've noticed that even Walmart put up their prices on stuff no doubt because transport costs have risen..

These are a real waste of trees. The issue is not with the outer boxes being dinged. I had a shipping box that was crushed on one corner and oddly enough the figures on that side of the box were in the best shape.

What Mattel has to take note of is that the cards are being dented, dinged, and bent at the factory at some stage before they are being shipped. Now they are just packing up an already bent up card into more packing material. Pretty pointless and just wasteful in the long run.

The solution is teaching proper handling at the factories. With the insane demand for these things I don't really fault the factory workers for having to juggle them though. Must be a real nut house in the factory.

I don't doubt there are some pre-damaged cards being sent out and they need to do a better job there, but they currently use horrible boxes and packaging material. Frankly, almost all the boxes I've gotten are too small and are not protected well inside. I literally have to cut the boxes to get my figures out. One nice hit and it is pretty much guaranteed damage. I've had damage every time there has been a nice dent on the outside.

Back in the 80's, there were not so many plastic things inside the blisters. The blisters were good quality (though not particularly tough), and still I NEVER (yes, you hear me clearly, NEVER) had any problem with a blister, and I never got any damaged figure ! It is not rare to find, still today, MOC Masters of the universe, Blackstar, Infaceable, Star Wars etc. So I guess the packaging back then was not so bad.

So why does Mattel seem to be totally unable (20 years later, in an era where technology is allegedly more evolved and reliable) and for an ADULT COLLECTORS toyline, to have suitable and efficient packaging methods ?

By the way, I want to add that some figures are a pain to remove from their blister (with all those little transparent elastics, plus think about Hordak, for example, whose staff and cape were "stuck" in an inner plastic shell).

Also, please don't say "it's the Chinese who damage the products in the factory". This is a bit too easy and stereotyped, and I see PLENTY of other toylines produced in China that reach the stores and the customers without any problem... Some Chinese were also producing MOTU products in the 80's, and the packagings (blisters) were not so bad, were they ? The issue must be deeper.

And, hum... from what was mentionned above, we must notice that international fans are ONCE AGAIN suffering the most from the bad packaging (and from higher shipping prices !). Does Mattel have any respect for the international fans ?

Most likely because the company that does the shipping raised their prices. I stuck with the cheapest option and it stayed the same, Lately when I've gone to the store I've noticed that even Walmart put up their prices on stuff no doubt because transport costs have risen..

I always choose the cheapest too. Mostly because the figures are so expensive I can barely justify the shipping cost anyway, but then I've heared people who live close to me spend anywhere from 20-35 dollars for 'next day shipping' and they get it in 3 days, yet with the regular UPS shipping I get it in 4-5. I just found it weird that it suddenly went up.